An Electrifying Gift
by Littleshopofaudrey
Summary: Seymour gives Audrey a gift with disastrous results.


The second the clock struck 6 o'clock, Mr. Mushnik was out the door without so much as a goodbye. It left Audrey and Seymour alone in the shop quietly giggling to themselves at their boss' enthusiasm to leave.

"He does that every night yet it still tickles me." Audrey said while gently chuckling.

"It's the happiest I ever see him." Seymour replied eliciting a hearty snort from Audrey which, embarrassed, she tried to play off.

Both silently pondered the irony: Mr. Mushnik couldn't wait to leave the shop on a night whereas both Seymour and Audrey couldn't wait for opening so they could see each other again.

"So, um, Audrey...I have something for you. I wanted to wait until Mr. Mushnik left before I gave it to you." Seymour said, too nervous to look her in the eyes. He went into the back room to retrieve it.

She was dumbfounded. "You got me a gift?" Nobody ever showed her such kindness. She was used to going without on Christmases, birthdays etc. Rather than complain, she lowered her expectations and rarely asked for anything.

He handed her something that's shape did not give it away. It was wrapped in toilet paper and she looked at him, slightly confused.

"I'm sorry, I didn't have any wrapping paper or anything…" They both laughed at Seymour's ability to compromise.

"No, no, I don't mind at all!" She was delighted regardless.

"Yeah, sorta. I-It's nothing special but I figured you could use it. Especially after the other night and all." She smiled sadly at the memory.

A few nights ago, one of the worst storms Skid Row had ever seen went into full swing just moments before Audrey was going to leave the shop to head home. She watched out the window in horror, remembering that she didn't have so much as a jacket to cover her. The walk to her apartment would only take a minute but that was long enough for her to get drenched. And, unbeknownst to Seymour, she had another shift that night and she wouldn't have had time to properly get ready again.

Seymour sprung into action, remembered that he had an umbrella downstairs and gallantly offered to walk her home.

On the walk home, a group of men spotted Audrey and proceeded to make offensive gestures at her and yell out what they thought were compliments. Seymour could sense how scared she was as they quickened their pace to her apartment.

The men got closer and closer. The closer they got, the more Audrey panicked and fumbled with her keys. Suddenly, Seymour felt a pull on his shirt as Audrey practically flung him into her apartment and locked the door behind them.

"That was close." She said breathlessly and tried to compose herself. "You should stay here for a few minutes, just until they're definitely gone."

"They were oafs. Why would they behave that way? Surely there's something wrong with them." Seymour pondered, shaking his head in disbelief. He couldn't imagine talking that way to anyone, especially not a lady like Audrey.

"I'm just glad they didn't touch me this time." Audrey said nonchalantly.

"You know them?"

"Oh, not really. I've walked passed them a few times and they're always like that. They did rip my slip a few weeks ago, that was terrifying actually. But what can you do? It's Skid Row after all." There was a sense of hopelessness in her voice and Seymour couldn't help but feel that she didn't belong in a place like this. He wished he could sweep her off her feet and take her somewhere that's safe. Somewhere that's wholesome. Somewhere that's green.

Seymour couldn't stop thinking about what she had told him. It had made him sick to his stomach. He couldn't bear the thought, he knew he had to do something.

As she unwrapped the gift, he watched hesitantly, hoping she liked it.

She held it in her hand and studied it, she'd never seen anything quite like it before. "Wow, this is bizarre. What is it?"

"It's called a taser. You can use it to defend yourself. I couldn't stop thinking about what you said about those men and this place, I wanted to make sure you were safe. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you." He cringed at the thought.

Her eyes brimmed with tears, genuinely touched by his small act of kindness. To know that someone would care if something happened to her meant more than Seymour could ever know.

"This is gonna make me feel so much better, Seymour. Thank you. Really, thank you." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek while he blushed and internally patted himself on the back for making her smile.

"Gee, Audrey. It's nothing, really." He replied bashfully.

"It's something." She looked him deep in the eyes, ensuring that he knew how grateful she was. "So, how does it work?"

He took it from her hands and fiddled with it a little, trying to figure out the answer to her question. "The guy in the store told me, I think you just kinda…"

Suddenly, Audrey let out a pained combination of a squeal and scream, and fell with a thud to the floor.

"Audrey?!" Seymour kneeled beside her on the floor and pulled her into his arms. "Audrey, what happened?! Are you okay?!" He was so confused. Then, it hit him…

He had accidentally tased her.

"Oh, my God! Oh, no! No!" He felt for her pulse and, to his relief, it was there and it was still going strong. He determined that she must have just been knocked unconscious from the shock.

Valiantly, he scooped her limp body up into his arms and carried her down the stairs to the store basement/his home. Most days, he tripped down the stairs at least once so it was nothing short of a miracle that he didn't lose his balance with Audrey in his arms.

He gently placed her on his cot and pulled a chair up beside her, watching the rise and fall of her chest. He had never felt so guilty in all of his life.

After around twenty minutes of rocking back and forward with his head in his hands, he heard a faint groan. Slowly, he lifted his head to see that Audrey was stirring gently. Still clearly weak.

"Audrey? Audrey?" He asked desperately.

"S-Seymour?" She replied, unable to fully open her eyes.

He took her hand in his and squeezed it a little. "It's me, Audrey. Are you okay?"

She blinked her eyes a few times, adjusting to her surroundings. Groggily, she looked around the room and realized where she was. "Mmm, your bed is actually a lot more comfortable than I imagined."

Now, it was Seymour's turn to blink in confusion. She had thought about being in his bed before?

He moved a little closer next to her. "Can you sit up?" With that, he extended his hand to her.

"I-I think so." As he pulled her up a little, she grimaced and grabbed her side in pain.

"I'm so sorry, Audrey." Seymour said, shaking his head at himself.

"Why? What happened?" She couldn't remember much beyond Mr. Mushnik leaving.

How could he tell her? "Well, I...I kinda...tased you." Saying it out loud made him feel even more ashamed. He knew that countless other men had hurt her and he swore to himself that he never would.

She smirked a little. "You what?"

"I-I tased you." He repeated with a straight face.

She let out a small gasp of disbelief. Then a tiny giggle. That giggle soon turned into a deep belly laugh as she flung herself back on the bed in a fit of hysterics.

To Seymour's relief, she was finding humor in the situation. Her beautiful laugh was so contagious that Seymour couldn't help but join in. The two sat in a fit of uncontrollable hysterics, unable to stop. It was a pretty great end to a pretty eventful night at Mushnik's Flower Shop.


End file.
